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Author
Topic: My Back (Read 5692 times)

One of the most unpleasant aspects of getting older is the aches and pains that go with it. I am having one of the worst sciatic pain attacks I've had in years.Luckily, Kurt has just purchased one of those inversion boards, that hangs you upside down by your ankles.Got out the heating pad so when I sit I have heat on my lower back. AndIbuprophen.Anyone with suggestions?

I can sorta sympathize. I have a muscle in my back that occasionally screws up thanks to an old snow-shoveling injury. As long as I always remember how easy it is to wrench it out of place again, I take things nice and easy and don't have problems. However, my rt shoulder has become a problem and I was just in the MRI machine yesterday hoping the scans just show old age or arthritis's or something and not avascular necrosis.

hmmm, dentists are doctors, right? Sounds like you should take your doctor's free advice in another specialty before he officially branches out into ortho med and charges you.

UGH! That's the worst! I hate it. Always seems to happen to me when I let myself get out of shape--or as we Michiganders call it--winter. I use ice at first. If you get a chance to get to a hot whirl pool--thet can feel wonderful.

Here's the part that may bring tears to your eyes, but helps me too: http://www.bigbackpain.com/back_exercises.html#backstretchingexercises

Another counter-intuitive action that seems to work for me is getting outside and walking--especially on terrain that isn't perfectly flat. Just go slowly and gingerly.

Joel, if that doesn't heal on it's own and you don't get any better with the pain, go to the doctorback injuries (if that is what you have don't get better, they can get a lot worse) I wouldn't use thatinverter-board until you feel better, muscle pain usually isn't that painful, and go's away, but, lowerback pain can be serious , I do hope you feel better, and post back and let us all know how yourdoing {{{HUGS}}} Dennis

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

Sorry to hear about your back Kurt . Please let me know if that board works . I have been reading for years about those inversion boards and to be honest when my back hurts stretching it out like that does sound like it might could help .

I started a thread over in off topic this week about my bad back problems , I sure hope you feel better soon .

What were you doing when the pain started? or before the pain started?

Hey Bear,

I've had about 3 or 4 sciatic nerve episodes throughout the years. I can sympathize with you, because it is extremely painful. For me, it starts in the butt cheek, and goes right down the leg, but it feels as though it affects the entire side of the back.

I am thinking like Ron is. Do you remember what you were doing prior to the pain starting?

Each time ( for myself) My sciatic nerve episodes started after doing something physical. (and it doesn't always have to be extreme physical)

And, it's usually been a result of twisting, and attempting to lift something, I've always been told to keep your body in alignment, when lifting, to help possibly avoid a sciatic episode. Just some thoughts.

Hope you feel better soon. I think I took some sort of muscle relaxers for it. Sometimes It went away fairly fast, other times it took a couple of days.

IIRC when my boss at my last job had similar issues he avoided the bed/mattress and swear by sleeping directly on a hard floor. I know he went to some specialist when it flared up so I must assume he was doing as instructed.

IIRC when my boss at my last job had similar issues he avoided the bed/mattress and swear by sleeping directly on a hard floor. I know he went to some specialist when it flared up so I must assume he was doing as instructed.

My Uncle has had so many back surgery's I have lost count , when he visits my house he plops down right on the hardwood floors , says its comfortable and he can get more dog loving form Zita my bulldog .

My Uncle has had so many back surgery's I have lost count , when he visits my house he plops down right on the hardwood floors , says its comfortable and he can get more dog loving form Zita my bulldog .

My other half just had one of those back implant spinal simulators installed in his back after 3 back surgeries, and all he has to do now is push a button on his portable and it sends a signal to has back pain, and it gives a shock to his back and covers the pain sensation to the brain, now, he hopes to get-off-all of that Morphine & Oxycodone, but that's gonna take a while, after a month his back scars healing nicely, but he still has a few more months to go......the price-tag for that surgery was a whopping $71,000 but luckily his workman's comp Insurance carrier of NYC covered all of it, when I saw the bill, I almost DIED of a heart-attack , until I then saw it had a ZERO balance owed

« Last Edit: February 19, 2011, 01:40:24 PM by denb45 »

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

IIRC when my boss at my last job had similar issues he avoided the bed/mattress and swear by sleeping directly on a hard floor. I know he went to some specialist when it flared up so I must assume he was doing as instructed.

Katie, who had back surgery and has a scar on her back that would satisfy any SYFY watcher that an alien could have taken over, is always complaining that her bed is too soft. I've even shoved a piece of plywood between the mattresses to satisfy her. It worked, but, the wood keeps inching it's way back out and then scratching her legs..

I have laid on the floor with my feet up in the couch, and it worked, I felt better, but then, I had to get back up off the floor...which wasn't pretty...

Joel must be hurting too bad to even sit at his 'puter...

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"I may not be exactly where I want to be, but I sure as Hell am not where I was" Wynnona Judd

Diagnosed/HIV1993AZTNorvir1994-2001Crixivan/Epivir/ZeritNo Meds for 7 Years

Joel, I'm sorry you're having all the pain. I would go see an ortho, and see what (s)he can diagnose, and suggest. Inversion boards, whirlpools, I'm sure all sound lovely, but I would wait to see what the doctor suggests.

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I've never killed anyone, but I frequently get satisfaction reading the obituary notices.-Clarence Darrow

I truly appreciate all of you who suggest not getting on the inversion board. Even my dentist said: make an appointment with an orthopedist.But I am one of the most stubborn guys you will ever meet. I preach a great line but never follow my own advice. In part because I needed immediate relief....now. I was having a hard time getting dressed and.... tying shoes...forget it. Now that is just not acceptable. So I read up on sciatic neves pain online. Its associated with the L4 L5 vertabra. Kurt has been through more physical therapy than all of us put together and he is my advisor. He oked the inversion board.I am pain free. But not out of the woods.I have an appointment with my acupuncturist tomorrow.I am going to get a refferral to an orthopedist.

You bugger. I know. I feel the same way. It hurts...get rid of it...I don't care how...just make it go away...now. Sometimes, you get lucky and one of the myriad things you are trying...and you are at the point of trying anything.... actually works.

acupuncture...needles? does that work? I've never done it, and seeing it in the movies, never thought I would.

speedy recovery...

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"I may not be exactly where I want to be, but I sure as Hell am not where I was" Wynnona Judd

Diagnosed/HIV1993AZTNorvir1994-2001Crixivan/Epivir/ZeritNo Meds for 7 Years

Ron...Thanks for asking. The pain has gone from a debilitating, searing, fire...... to a low grade annoying twinge.Acupuncture cannot cure hip pain like sciatica but it will relieve the pain. I had skipped a month. Some months I have two or three treatments. So I was way overdue for an acupuncture treatment. Next week I go to get a massage. And another acupuncture treatment the following week.Clearly I need to see an orthopedist.

Ron...Thanks for asking. The pain has gone from a debilitating, searing, fire...... to a low grade annoying twinge.Acupuncture cannot cure hip pain like sciatica but it will relieve the pain. I had skipped a month. Some months I have two or three treatments. So I was way overdue for an acupuncture treatment. Next week I go to get a massage. And another acupuncture treatment the following week.Clearly I need to see an orthopedist.

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"it's so nice to be insane, cause no-one ask you to explain" Helen Reddy cc 1974

I know very little about back pain, never having had any before, but now with an Osteoporosis diagnosis, I read that at my level of bone loss I can have stress fractures in my lower lumbar vertebra just from a situp or twist or standing too long! Jesus. Perhaps I should just stay in bed all day. My dad had stress fractures in deteriorated lumbar vertebra from lung cancer spreading and was in terrible pain, so I really don't want that. I've started supplementing with Vit D and Calcium and taking Fosamax, and changing my excercise patterns, to fight it. So if that was the cause, you'd want to know so you can address it, don't be stubborn! The DEXA test is nothing to sit through, just a machine whirring away above you; I think Harry Potter is inside with a wand.

Ron...Thanks for asking. The pain has gone from a debilitating, searing, fire...... to a low grade annoying twinge.Acupuncture cannot cure hip pain like sciatica but it will relieve the pain. I had skipped a month. Some months I have two or three treatments. So I was way overdue for an acupuncture treatment. Next week I go to get a massage. And another acupuncture treatment the following week.Clearly I need to see an orthopedist.

Hi Bear -

I know this is an old topic, but thought I'd add my few cents worth anyway. I'm HIV+ (13+ yrs), an acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist, and a volunteer assistant coach and massage therapist for a nationally ranked springboard & platform diving team (Indiana University).

I see a fair amount of low back pain and sciatic pain in my clinic, and you're right - I wouldn't ever claim acupuncture can 'cure' sciatic pain, but it should be able to help.

The main thing I find, however - as in every patient I treat for low back pain and sciatic pain - is that their quads are too tight (these are the muscles, as I'm sure you know, that are at the front of the upper leg); when they are too tight, they pull the pelvis out of line, and the low back gets pinched. Then the muscles around the vertebrae in the low back seize up to try to protect it, and this further compresses the nerves and other tissues, resulting in nasty pain (I went through several years of this as a result of a dislocated hip, so I know what you are dealing with).

Over a period of time, the compression can result in disk issues, and this can in turn lead to bone-on-bone problems in the lumbar area. By that time it's hard to reverse things, but at every step in this development, traction (like your inversion board) is a great idea, but will only be a temporary relief unless the pelvis can find its normal position - that will only happen if the quads get loosened up. As your massage therapist to focus on that for a few visits, and see if it helps.

I know this is an old topic, but thought I'd add my few cents worth anyway. I'm HIV+ (13+ yrs), an acupuncturist and Chinese herbalist, and a volunteer assistant coach and massage therapist for a nationally ranked springboard & platform diving team (Indiana University).

I see a fair amount of low back pain and sciatic pain in my clinic, and you're right - I wouldn't ever claim acupuncture can 'cure' sciatic pain, but it should be able to help.

The main thing I find, however - as in every patient I treat for low back pain and sciatic pain - is that their quads are too tight (these are the muscles, as I'm sure you know, that are at the front of the upper leg); when they are too tight, they pull the pelvis out of line, and the low back gets pinched. Then the muscles around the vertebrae in the low back seize up to try to protect it, and this further compresses the nerves and other tissues, resulting in nasty pain (I went through several years of this as a result of a dislocated hip, so I know what you are dealing with).

Over a period of time, the compression can result in disk issues, and this can in turn lead to bone-on-bone problems in the lumbar area. By that time it's hard to reverse things, but at every step in this development, traction (like your inversion board) is a great idea, but will only be a temporary relief unless the pelvis can find its normal position - that will only happen if the quads get loosened up. As your massage therapist to focus on that for a few visits, and see if it helps.

all the best,

David

David, I understand you mean well, but as someone who was not diagnosed before 1996, you are not permitted to post in the Long Term Survivors forum.

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